Valve.



PATENTED OCT. l0, 1905.

M. WARREN.' VALVE.

APPLICATION FILBI NOV. 11,1904.

PATENT 'OFFlCE MARION WARREN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed November 11, 1904. Serial No. 232,320.

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MARION WARREN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Valves, of which the fol--lowing is specification.

As is well known, kegs, casks, and the like, such as are used by brewersof ale and beer, are made with a tap-hole in the head and stave, throughwhich the package may be iilled by the brewer and through which itscontents are drawn off by the consumer. It has been customary to X avalve in the tap-hole which could be used by the brewer in iilling thepackage and by the consumer to control the discharge of the contents ofthe package. Ordinarily this valve has been made up of abody exterior-lythreaded and screwed into the taphole, a rotary slide-valve at the innerend of the body and within the package, and a stem extending from thevalve through the valvebod y to the exterior of the package, the outerend of which stem was adapted to be engaged by adetachablefaucet-wrench, through turning which the stem could be rotated and thevalve opened. Such Valves have, h`owever, been found not entirelysatisfactory, first, because, as it is necessary before use to coat thewhole of the interior of the package with pitch, this pitch lodges andhardens upon the relatively movable parts of the valve and often cementsthe same together so firmly that the stem is broken in attempting tooperate the valve, and, second, because as heretofore constructed valvesof this class in time became leaky, no adequate provision being usuallyprovided to compensate for wear of the valve and its seat, and becausethe slide-valves as heretofore made were easily scored and otherwiseaffected by particles of pitch or other particles lodging between thevalve-surfaces, and as the valve must be gas-tight to be practicallyeiicient this was a serious objection.

My invention has for its object to provide an imprcved valve, and I haveshown it as applied for use with brewers kegs, casks, or the like; but,as will be clear, its useis not necessarily so limited.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figurel is a side elevation of my improvedvalve closed. Fig. 9. is an elevation of the inner end -of the valveshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the outer end of the valveshown in Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3, but showingthe valve mounted in the head of a cask. Fig. 5 shows separately theyielding valve-carrier hereinafter described. Fig. 6 is a view of theinner end of the valvebody, showing the deflector, hereinaftendescribed,which guides the free ends 0f the valveplugs onto their seats. Fig. 7 isa section on line 7 7 of Fig. 4, but showing the valve in its openposition and showing also a faucetwrench of usual construction by whichvalves of this class are operated. Fig. 8 is a view of the socket end ofthe faucet-wrench shown in Fig. 7. Y

ln the best form of my invention now known to me the valve-body is ahollow shell, eXteriorly threaded, as usual, and closed at its inner endby a wall through which extends the valve-stem. As herein shown, threeports are provided through this end wall, spaced around the valve-stem,and the inner end of the valvestem-z'. e., that end of the stem which iswithin the package when the valve is in useprojects beyond the end walland is provided with a yielding carrier, to which are pivotallyconnected the ends of three valve-plugs, so that when the stem is turnedthe plugs are carried around the aXis of said stem toward or from theirseats at the inner ends of the ports,said seats being adapted to receiveand fit the free ends of the plugs, which are preferably spherical.

Having reference to the drawings, which represent the preferred form ofmy new valve, A represents the body of my improved valve; B, therotatable valve-stem journaled in the inner end wall a of said body; O,the ports through the body; D, the toggle-like valve-plugs; E, thespring valve-carrier through which the valve-plugs D are connected withstem B, and F the deflector describedlater.

The body A is a hollow shell exterior-ly threaded, as at ce', to adaptit to be screwed into the usual opening provided in the head and staveof the cask G. The inner end wall a of this body A is made with acentral boss a2, in which the stem B is journaled, and the face of bossa2 is made with sharp annular sei-rations a3. Corresponding serrationsare formed upon the face of the head Z), and between these two faces awasher b', of soft metal, is carried, in which the serrations areembedded so as to form a gas-tight joint.

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Stem B near its inner end is made for a part of its length triangular incross-section, as at Z1 in Fig. 4L, to receive upon it the valve-carrierE, which has a correspondingly-shaped opening e near its middle. To theend wall t is fixed the deector F, and between deiector F and carrier Eis a sleeve Z22. and between sleeve b2 and a second sleeve b3 carrier Eis held by two nuts b", mounted upon the threaded inner end of stem B.

The carrier E is made from two spider-like plates e' and @2, eachcomplementary to the other, and these two plates are riveted orotherwise fastened together. These plates when placed together providethree curved springarms @3, terminating at their outer ends in sphericalsockets 6*, which inclose balls CZ, formed on the ends of plug D.

Each plug D is preferably made from a sin-- gle piece of metal andcomprises, besides its ball CZ, a valve member rZ, having, preferably, avalve-face slightly more than hemispherical in form, this valve member dbeing connected with ball Z by a shank (Z2, extending from valve d toball Z through one of the slots e, lprovided in plate e' of carrier E,each of said slots opening into one of the sockets e4. These slots e5are arranged tangentially with respect to the axis of stem B, so thatwhen the latter is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow inFig.v 2 the plugs D are first rocked sidewise on valves d and balls CZand then carried bodily into the position shown in Fig. 7, with valves Zentirely clear of the ports C- that is to say, when the valve is beingopened the first part of the rotary movement of ,stem B merely rockseach plug on its ball CZ and valve ZQ and the rest of the movement ofthe stem carries the plug bodily away from its port C. It is thereforetrue that in the preferred form of my valve each plug D constitutes onemember of a toggle, the other member of which is its spring-arm c3, andtherefore great power can be applied to the valveplugs while beingseated or starting to open by the rocking or twisting motion imparted tothem before they are moved bodily. rlhis great power can be applied withthe utmost ease, since the toggle action enormously multiplies theactuating' power, and this is of importance, since it seats the valve soclosely that no foreign substance can remain between the valve and itsseat, and the valve and its seat, although of hardened metal, wear andrenew an absolute lit between the valves and seats, the motion of thevalves presenting continuously new surfaces in opposition to the seat.Also the initial part of the opening movement of each valve acts tobreak up the hardened pitch before the valve is moved bodily, therebyobviating the objectionable sticking and breakage of the valve-stemnoted above. It will be apparent also that the leverage is so great atthis initial part of the movement of the valves that but comparativelyslight power is required to be applied to the stem to operate them, andthe stem is therefore not in danger of breakage.

When the valve is tobe closed, stem B is turned in a direction oppositeto that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and by this movement plugs Dare first swung bodily around stem B until valves CZ' strike thedeliector F, which guides them into the ports C onto their seats, andthen the remainder of the rotary movement of the stem rocks each plug onits ball d and valve Z from a more or less inclined position into andslightly beyond the perpendicular position shown in Fig. 4. The arms e3are constructed so as to yield slightly as the plugs approach theirfully-closed positions, which allows each valve to be seatedindependently of the others and makes it unnecessary to have all of theplugs of exactly the same length to a nicety, as would be required witha rigid carrier. I do not mean to say, however, that it is essentialthat the carrier be resilient, since a practical valve could be madewithout this feature, and, furthermore, the particular means shown forsecuring resiliency are not essential, as other ways of securing ayielding pressure on the plugs as they are closed will, from theconstruction described, occur to those skilled in this art and areintended to be included within the scope of my invention. Also it willbe apparent that it is within the scope of my invention to depart fromthe relative arrangement between the valve-stem and the ports hereinshown so long as the substance of what I have desribed is maintained.

The slots e5 of the carrier E are closed at one end, as at e6, and thisend e, by engagement with the shank cl2 of its valve-plug D, serves as astop to limit the closing movement of stem B and prevent the plug Dpassing beyond the position which it is to occupy when the valve isclosed. By this means the tension on the arms e3 when the valve is inits closed position is not exerted torsionally on the valve-stem, butaxially or lengthwise, so that there is no tendency for the valve toopen of itself, while at the same time washer is held snugly between theend of boss a2 and and head and valves d are held tightly against theirseats.

It will now be clear that my improved valve comprises a body made with aport therethrough and a stem rotatably mounted in said body, to which ispivotally connected one end of a plug, whose opposite end is free andadapted to cooperate with the seat to control said port, said plug beingrocked sidewise when shifted to and from said seat by the turning of thestem.

A feature of my device is the organization of parts and the shapethereof, so that the opening and closing of the valves cause thevalve-surfaces to grind together as the valve is closed, and thus eachvalve lits and continu- IOS IIO

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ally renews its seat by this grinding action, and the free and universalconnection of the plug with the socket-carrier causes the valve tocontinually present fresh surfaces in opposition to the valve-seat.

Another feature of my invention consists in providing' means to guidethe free end of the plug onto its seat when it is being moved by thestem toward its closed position.

Another feature of my invention consists in the construction whereby theplug is yieldingly forced and held onto the valve-seat.

Another feature of my invention consists in providing a stop to limitthe rotary valve-4 closing movement of the stem, so that when the plugis in its closed position it has been v carried slightly beyond theperpendicular' or dead-center, so to speak, and there is therefore notorsional strain on the stem, which would tend to open the valve.

It is customary to operate valves of this class by a removalfaucet-wrench, and herein I have shown such a faucet-wrench at H, Fig.7, Vwhich is of ordinary construction-that is, it is made at' one endwith a spout 7L and at its other end with a socket fr', which can bepassed into body A to engage with head Z) of stem B. Socket 7L' is madewith two wings or lugs and/L3, lug h2 being narrower than lug 7b3. Thebody A at its open outer end is made upon opposite sides of its interiorwith two cam-grooves imand It, into the open ends ofwhich the lugs ft2h3, respectively, are passed in order to engage socket /L with the headZ) of stem B. The entrances to these two grooves are each of about thesame width as its respective lug, and the purpose of this is to make itimpossible for socket L to be inserted in body A wrong side up, whichwould bring spout L in the wrong position when the faucet is turned toopen the valve. Vhen faucet H is turned to rotate stem B and open thevalve, lugs f and 7a3 travel along these cam-grooves, which act to forcethe socket /L into body A against an interior seat so as to preventleakage around the faucet and also to clamp the faucet in place. seat f,the socket it' is provided with a gasket if, of rubber or the like, intowhich said seat is embedded to some extent when faucet H is turned toopen the valve.

Vhat I claim isl. A valve, comprising a body made with a porttherethrough; a stem mounted in said body; a plug held between the stemand body and having a toggle action when actuated by relative movementof the stem and body to control said port.

2. A valve, comprising a body made with a port therethrough; a stemrotatably mounted in said body and a plug for controlling said port,pivotally connected at one end to said stem and actuated by said stem.

3. A valve, comprising a body made with a port therethrough; a stemrotatably mounted To make a' tight joint at in said body and a plughaving a curved face, for controlling' said port, pivotally connected atone end to said stem and actuated by said stem.

4. A valve, comprising a body made With a port therethrough; a stemrotatably mounted in said body; a plug pivotally connected at one end tosaid stem and actuated by said stem and having a hemisphericalvalve-face to control said port, the port having a valve-seat of hollowhemispherical form corresponding to the valve-face.

5. A valve, comprising a body made with ai port therethrough; a sternrotatably mounted in said body; and a plug for controlling said portpivotally connected at one end to said stem, and means to guide the freeend of the plug to its seat when shifted toward its closed position.

6. A valve, comprising a body made with a port therethrough; a stemrotatably mounted in said body; a plug for controlling said port,pivotally connected at one end to said stern; and a stop to limit theclosing movement of the stem so as to hold the plugmember beyond thedead-center.

7. Avalve, comprising a body made with a port therethrough; a stemrotatably mounted in said body; a yielding carrier fixed to said stem,and a plug for controlling said port pivotally connected at one end tosaid carrier.

8. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced; and a plurality of plugs for controlling said ports, eachpivotally connected atone end to said stem.

9. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced; a yielding carrier fixed to said stem. and a plurality of plugsfor controlling said ports, each pivotally connected at one end to saidcarrier.

10. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced; a yielding carrier fixed to said stem, and a plurality of plugsfor controlling said ports, each pivotally connected at one end to saidcarrier, and a stop for limiting the closing movement of the stem so asto hold the plugs beyond the dead-center.

11. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced, said stem being provided at one side of the body with a head andat the opposite side of said body with a yielding carrier; a pluralityof valve-plugs between the carrier and body for controlling said portseach pivotally connected at one end to said carrier, and a stop forlimiting the closing movement of the stem so as to hold the plug membersbeyond dead-centers, with the yielding carrier exerting endwise pressureIOO IIO

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on the plug in one direction to hold the head thereoic against thevalve-seat.

12. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced, said stem being provided with a plurality ot'spring-arms, and aplurality of plugs between said arms and the body for controlling saidports, each plug pivotally connected at one end to the extremity of oneot' said arms.

13. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced, said stem being provided with a plurality of springarms, eachmade at its outer end with a socket; and a plurality of plugs betweensaid arms and the body for controlling said ports, each plug made at oneend with a ball pivotally mounted within the socket of one of the arms.

14. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced, said stem being provided witha plurality of spring-arms, eachmade at its outer end with a socket; and a plurality of plugs betweensaid arms and the body for controlling saidports, each plug made at oneend with a ball pivotally mounted within the socket oi' one of the armsand at its opposite end with a hemispherical valve-face adapted to seatin its respective port.

15. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced, said stem being provid ed with a plurality of spring-arms, eachmade at its outer end with a socket; and a plurality of plugs betweensaid arms and the body for controlling said ports, each plug made at oneend with a ball pivotally mounted within the socket of one of the armsand at its opposite end with a hemisp'herical valve-face adapted to seatin its respective port, and a deiiector for guiding each valve into itsport when the stem is turned to close the valve.

16. A valve, comprising a body having a plurality of ports therethrough;a rotatable stem extending through said body around which said ports arespaced, said stem being provided with a plurality of spring-arms, eachmade at its outer end with a socket; and a plurality of plugs betweensaid arms and the body for controlling said ports, each plug made at oneend with a ball pivotally mounted within the socket of one of the armsand at its other end with a hemispherical valve-face adapted to seat inits respective port; a defiector for guiding each valve into its portwhen the stem is turned to close the valve, and a stop to limit theclosing movement of the plugs and hold them beyond dead-centers.

17. A valve, comprising a body having a port therethrough; a rotatablestem extending through said body; a slotted socket 'fast to the stem; aplug, one end of which is a ball pivotally mounted in the socket andwith its stem traveling in the slot; all organized and arranged to causethe plug to be guided in a circular path to the valve-seat, by theaction of the slot.

18. A valve, comprising a hollow body; a port connecting the hollow andthe outer side otl the body; a stem mounted in the body; a plug heldbetween the stem and body and having a toggle action when actuated byrelative movement of the stem and body to control said port.

19. A valve, comprising a hollow body; a port connecting the hollow andthe outer side of the body; a carrier; a plug held between the carrierand the body and having a toggle action when actuated by relativemovement of the carrier and body to control said port and means torelatively actuate the body and carrier.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 3d day of November, 1904.

MARION WTARREN.

Witnesses:

J osnrH T. BRENNAN, C. D. VooDBERRY.

